Spinning and twisting spindle.



No. 892,480. I PATENTED JULY 7, 1908. V. S. WBSTGOTT & G. B. ALLEN.

SPINNING AND TWISTING SPINDLE.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 24, 1906.

l I I 5/7 IwH 2 ATTORNEY!!- No. 892,480. PATENTBD JULY 7, 1908. V. S. WESTOOTT & G. B. ALLEN.

SPINNING AND TWISTING SPINDLB.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 APPLICATION FILED NOV. 24, 1906.

INVENTORS 7% ATTORNEY- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VALORUS S. WESTOOTT AND GEORGE B. ALLEN, OF PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND.

SPINNING AND TWISTIN G SPINDLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 7, 1908 Application filed November'24, 1906. Serial No. 344,838.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, VALORUS S. WEST- COTT and GEORGE B. ALLEN, residing at Pawtucket, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spinning and Twisting Spindles, of which the following is a specification.

The object of manufacturers of spinning and twisting spindles has been to make a spindle which may be runat a relatively high speed without vibration. In the socalled gravity type the rotary spindle is stepped into a non-rotary bolster which may or may not be suspended at the top on the inclosing case, but which is made smaller in diameter along its length than said case. Various means have heretofore been employed to cushion the bolster and confine it within certain limits so as to reduce or remove the liability of vibration and wear when there occurs a variation between the mechanical center and the balanced center of the spindle. As a cushioning means there have been employed oil baths and springs in various forms and relations designed to yieldingly hold the bolster in the position to which the spindle may split it. Spindles so constructed can be satisfactorily run up to 8,000 or 8,500 revolutions per minute but beyond that vibratory movements are set up of such extent and character that the cushion becomes ineffective and is unable to prevent the hammering of the bolster from side to side, resulting in the setting up of a gyratorymovement of the spindle which causes the bobbin to fly ofi or breaks the yarn. Moreover, the most satisfactory high speed spindle now on the market is expensive to make.

The purpose of our invention is to construct a spindle of the gravity type in which the attainable speed of rotation is materially increased, such increase being due to the effective control over the spindle, when carrying an unbalanced load which tends to set up an undesirable movement, by which it is made to center itself with )I'OlllPtllGSS and certainty. This desirable o ject is attained by interposing an elastic member between the bolster or spindle bearing and the inclosing case. As more fully described hereafter, this elastic member is in the form of a coiled spring which is disposed axially of the bolster and rests loosely or unattached upon the bottom of the case. lVhen so dis osed the said spring serves as a cushion to yie dingly center the bolster and to prevent any recoil thereof. In order to restrict the movement of the spring we surround it with a series of thin collars having a loose fit thereon and of less diameter than that of the chamber which incloses the sprin As an additional cushioning agent we fill said chamber with a suit able oil.

The invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a central vertical section of one embodiment of our invention Fig. 2 a similar view with certain of the parts in elevation; Fig. 3 a transverse section on the plane of the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 1 a transverse section on the plane of the line t at of Fig. 1 Figs. 5 and 6 face and sectional views, re spectively, of one of the collars or disks shown in Fig. 1 as surrounding theelastic member; Fig. 7 a central vertical section showing the invention applied to a construction having a suspended bolster; Fig. 8 a transverse section on the plane of the line S-8 of Fig. 7 Fig. 9 a central vertical section of the lower part of the spindle illustrating a modified form of elastic member; Fig. 10 a transverse section on the plane of the line 1010 of Fig. 9; Fig. 11 a central vertical section of another modification showing a different form of collar from that illustrated in Fig. 1; and Fig. 12 a view of the lower end of the bolster to illustrate the method of operation.

Similar reference numerals indicate similar parts in the several views.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 6 the numeral 1 designates a spindle of usual construction having a whirl 2. 3 designates the bolster and 4 the bolster case adapted to be clamped to the rail of the spinning frame by a nut 5 and flange 6. Case 4 has a cylin drical section 7 extending upwardly within the whirl adapted to receive, without binding on the wall thereof, the bolster 3. Rotation of the bolster is prevented by a pin 8 (see Fig. l) projecting therefrom and engaging a vertical groove in the inner wall of said section 7. The bolster is tapered downwardly to provide a clearance between the bolster and the case so as to allow the play necessary to permit the spindle to find its center upon the step 9 upon which it spins.

The essential feature of our invention consists in inter-posing an elastic member between the bolster and its case. In Fig. 1 this takes the form of a closely wound spiral spring 10 disposed axially of the bolster and adapted to receive the entire weight of the bolster and spindle. The upper end of the spring may be attached to the bolster by any convenient means as by forcing it over the reduced projecting end 11 thereof, said end rojecting into the spring only far enough to firmly hold the latter, as for example, about three-sixteenths of an inch. The spring is otherwise unconfined except by the collars hereafter described; that is, it rests loosely upon and has no fastening or securing means between its lower end and the finished surface of the bottom of the case. Contiguous convolutions of the spring are normally in contact with each other and the spring is neither under tension nor compression, and forms simply an elastic end or base for the bolster.

Surrounding the spring 10 and fitting loosely thereon is a series of collars 12 which collars are preferably concaved or dished as shown in Fig. 6 and rest one upon the other. In a spindle constructed and operated by us the spring 10 is about one and one-sixteenth inches long, with an outside diameter of onefourth of an inch; and the collars 12 about twenty-nine sixty-fourths of an inch outside diameter and one-sixteenth of an inch thick. The inside diameter of the chamber in the lower part of the case 4 is about thirty sixtyfourths of an inch, leaving a clearance of one sixty-fourth of an inch between the collars and the wall of said chamber, or a difference of one thirty-second of an inch in their diameters. 7e do not desire to be limited to these dimensions and give them merely by way of a statement of what has been done in practice. In the spindle referred to there were five of these collars but a greater or less number may be used. There should be sufficient, however, to balance the load at the speed desired.

The bolster and case will be provided with the necessary ducts 18 to enable the proper lubrication of the spindle bearing, the oil being maintained at a sufficient level to fill the lower part of the case and to provide a body thereof between the bolster and case.

In the use of the spindle above described any lateral movement of the bolster, due to a force acting on the spindle tending to disturb its condition of equilibrium, will cause a similar movement of spring 10 until the collars 12, or some of them, are brought against the inner wall of the case, the spring ultimately yielding under the strain to which it is subjected and bending somewhat as indicated in Fig. 12. By reason of its elasticity .the spring when bent tends to straighten itself and in so doing exerts an upward pressure against the bolster which has the effect of centering the latter. The spring thus acts to yieldingly center the bolster in its case and serves as an efficient cushion in that it prevents any recoil of the bolster. This function of the spring is supplemented by the cushioning action of the oil surrounding the bolster and spring, the oil yieldingly opposing any sudden movement of the bolster which would otherwise cause it to strike against the side of the case. The use of oil alone presents merely a cushioning agent, there being no force acting to positively center the bolster and to restore the spindle to its normal condition of equilibrium. Whereas, in a bolster constructed as described, having what may be termed a live base, the continuous line of the blade and bolster is broken under abnormal conditions and the property of elasticity inherent in the spring serves the purpose as stated. In other words, the spring acts as a restraining member or as a resistance to any force tending to move the spindle bearing or bolster out of center, and if that resistance is overcome the spring acts as a positive force to restore the bolster to its center. As long as the bolster maintains its center the spring 10 is inactive or latent that is, being under neither tension nor compression, it exerts no force on the bolster. It is only when the spindle is moved from its normal balanced center that the spring becomes active.

While we have specifically described a coiled spring, it will be understood from the foregoing description that any other form of spring or any other elastic member having similar properties and functions may be employed, and we do not desire to be limited to the specific construction illustrated.

The collars 12 also serve a useful function in restricting the extent of lateral movement of the bolster to that of the small amount of clearance between them and the case, and by the cushioning effect of the oil filling said clearance. The more collars used the greater will be the cushioning surface.

As will be noted the spring 10 virtually forms part of the spindle-bearing or bolster 3 in that it is attached directly to it and forms the support for the spindle bearing portion. With the bolster in one piece as heretofore constructed, when moved violently to one side the lower end thereof strikes heavily against the side of the case and rebounds immediately to the other side. In our construction, however, a lateral movement of the bolster effects a slight bending or flexing of the spring, the latter, upon being released, straightening itself and restoring the bolster to its center, and by absorbing the shock preventing a recoil or bounding of the bolster to the opposite side. The spindle is thus per mitted to run at a very high speed without vibration. In practice with the construction described we have spun 120s yarn at a speed of 11,600 revolutions per minute without vibration of the spindle.

Fig. 7 illustrates the invention applied to a the bolster and spindle is upon the bottom of the case thus conducing to a more stable device.

In Fig. 9 a modified form of flexible member is shown consisting of a flat spiral spring 1 6 the inner end 17 of which is bent upwardly and secured in an opening in the lower end of a the bolster. In this form the end of the bolster is formed with a flange 18 upon which the collars 12 are supported. As in the form of spring illustrated in Fig. 1, that illustrated in Fig. 9 rests unattached upon the bottom of the case and serves in precisely the same mannor to center the bolster.

In Fig. 11 a construction is shown similar to that of Fig. 1 except that instead of collars 12 we may employ one or more cylinders 19 of thin sheet metal resting loosely upon the bottom of the case and surrounding the flexible member 10. The cylinders aresubstantially the'same as described in our application Serial Number 325,440, filed July 10, 1906, and they serve in the present invention to restrict the movement of the flexible member 10 as described in connection with collars 12. Moreover, when employing a plurality of these cylinders thin walls of oil are formed to supplement the cushioning action of said member.

We therefore wish to be understood by collars or washers any means that surround, or partially surround the elastic member or spring, such as collars, washers, cylinders, tubes and the like.

I/Vhat we claim and Letters Patent is 1. In a spindle the combination of a bolster, a bolster case, and a closely coiled normally inactive spring in axial alinement with said bolster and resting unattached upon the bottom of the case, said spring being throughout its length of less diameter than the bolster case and adapted when flexed under abnormal conditions to exert an upward pressure against the bolster to yieldingly center the same.

2. In a spindle the combination of a bolster, a bolster case, a closely coiled normally inactive spring in axial alinement with said bolster and resting unattached upon the bottom 01" the case, said spring being throughout its length of less diameter than the bolster case and adapted when flexed under abnormal conditions to exert an upward pressure against the bolster to yieldingly center the same, and washers or collars surrounding said spring.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. I

VAIJORUS S. IVESTCOTT. GEORGE B. ALLEN.

desire to secure by WVitnesses:

JOHN T. POLLARD, FRANoIs H. WAsHBUnN. 

